History of Castillo de Locubín
The first evidence of human presence in this area dates back to the fourth millennium BC, from caves once inhabited by shepherds who made decorative ceramics. The town of Cabeza Baja de Encina Hermosa, which has been identified with Ipolcobulcula, is located in its municipal area. It was a large fortified population centre, founded in the latter stages of the Iberian culture and which reached its peak of development in the high Roman imperial stage, in the first century AD. The imperial stage corresponds to the Roman villa of Cortijo del Baño, in Venta del Carrizal.
During the Islamic period, the settlement was known as Hisn al-Uqbin, which some translate as Castillo de la Aguilas, and others as Castillo de las Cuevas. During the last decades of the ninth century and the beginning of the tenth, it was involved in the Muladi revolt until, in 918, the Caliph Abd Al-Rahman III crushed the rebellion. After the rupture of the unit maintained in the Caliphate, Castillo de Locubín would be in the hands of the Ziríes of Granada later in the cadastral district headed by Alcalá la Real. Due to its border position, it passed between Muslim and Castilian hands several times.
Fernando III, it was part of the territory of the Order of Calatrava, constituting one of the advanced limits of the Encomienda de Martos. In 1341, after eight months of siege, Alcalá la Real surrendered to Alfonso XI. A little earlier, Castillo de Locubín did it before the innkeepers of the Infante Don Enrique, commanded by his Major Butler, Don Alfonso Pérez Coronel. Four years later the King signed a privilege in Burgos whereby he donated the town and castle to Alcalá la Real, as a result of its services.
In 1600, the locals demanded segregation for the first time but failed. In 1627, King Felipe IV sold the town to the Marquis of Trujillo, which led to its segregation. But this situation did not last long; in 1693, it passed back to the Crown, and in 1729 the separation was requested by means of a lawsuit, but again the arguments of Alcalá la Real won. It obtained segregation in 1810, but for a very short time, since in 1814 it became dependent again on Alcalá la Real. Finally, in 1835, the town managed to emancipate itself permanently. In 1915, King Alfonso XIII granted it the title of City.